Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1984. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 28).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California. / Photocopy made by University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1980.

The crux of this investigation is the combination of realist and abstract elements in pictorial space and negotiating the various pictorial problems this sets in motion. The interaction between these elements, especially in a spatial sense, creates both a visual and conceptual ambiguity central to the meaning of the work. Multiple treatments of painted form -- realist, expressive and abstract are interleaved producing divergent visual sensations. The transition from one visual sensation to another, the way the eye traverses believable forms to suddenly collide with the canvas, forced there by raw, painted gesture, is an unpredictable journey invoking visual perplexity, thereby alerting the viewer to potential meanings; the research paintings are not just images of things, they are images of things that would not normally exist together, but do so to create a story. It is intended that the viewer be directed toward the subject of the painting as much as the qualities of the medium itself. Influences as diverse as art historical painting, photography, the motion and lighting effects of film, the qualities of surface reflections and chiaroscuro, have been sourced to facilitate a new body of work. Directing the relationship of the viewer to the paintings through format and scale, (generally life size or very small) promotes a similar kind of interaction (the need to get up close and far away) to that of the application of pictorial space. This is an important aspect of the research; the optical process of focussing in and out is a microcosm of looking at the paintings installed in physical space. The subject of the paintings is female sexuality and its connection to identity, relationships and self-expression. It is also the conceptual object of 'Multiplicity', a principal idea in the work, ambiguous pictorial situations suggesting reality is not one thing but a combination of remembered, existing and subconscious experience. In the research, this concept also pertains to the painter (using memory, experience and imagination) and the audience viewing the work at different times.

The crux of this investigation is the combination of realist and abstract elements in pictorial space and negotiating the various pictorial problems this sets in motion. The interaction between these elements, especially in a spatial sense, creates both a visual and conceptual ambiguity central to the meaning of the work. Multiple treatments of painted form -- realist, expressive and abstract are interleaved producing divergent visual sensations. The transition from one visual sensation to another, the way the eye traverses believable forms to suddenly collide with the canvas, forced there by raw, painted gesture, is an unpredictable journey invoking visual perplexity, thereby alerting the viewer to potential meanings; the research paintings are not just images of things, they are images of things that would not normally exist together, but do so to create a story. It is intended that the viewer be directed toward the subject of the painting as much as the qualities of the medium itself. Influences as diverse as art historical painting, photography, the motion and lighting effects of film, the qualities of surface reflections and chiaroscuro, have been sourced to facilitate a new body of work. Directing the relationship of the viewer to the paintings through format and scale, (generally life size or very small) promotes a similar kind of interaction (the need to get up close and far away) to that of the application of pictorial space. This is an important aspect of the research; the optical process of focussing in and out is a microcosm of looking at the paintings installed in physical space. The subject of the paintings is female sexuality and its connection to identity, relationships and self-expression. It is also the conceptual object of 'Multiplicity', a principal idea in the work, ambiguous pictorial situations suggesting reality is not one thing but a combination of remembered, existing and subconscious experience. In the research, this concept also pertains to the painter (using memory, experience and imagination) and the audience viewing the work at different times.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 2005

Thesis (M.F.A.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 15 p. : col. ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 13).

Thesis (M.Des.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2006. / Title supplied. Includes bibliography.

The mirror, central to traditional Western epistemology and representation, has shattered. Yet its metaphors, mechanisms, operations and poetics continue to powerfully shape and evocatively describe, contemporary Western culture. The exhibition, After Reflection, investigates realist representation in a post-mirror paradigm, through paintings, prints and projections that incorporate perceptual plays, virtual imaging and digital modeling. The dissertation charts the history of the mirror metaphor and its reconfiguration through post-modernity. It suggests that while the metaphor may be superceded it remains useful and evocative but only if considered in the form of a mirror-ball rather than as a planar mirror. The dissertation examines the mirror metaphor and its relationship to a wide selection of aspects crucial to the arrangement of contemporary Western culture, art and space. / The thesis is structured as a mirror-ball, in small fragments that both reflect on and illuminate aspects of the topic. The dissertation is thus divided into various ‘Shards’ – broad subject headings derived from the primary mechanisms and poetics of the mirror. Within each shard are a varied number of ‘Rays’ – lines of illumination arising from each shard that impact on particular aspects of Western culture. / The exhibition After Reflection includes further speculations around the theme of the mirror and with the arrangement of contemporary space – both pictorial and actual. It is not intended to illustrate the dissertation but to be an additional supplement that visually elaborates on issues enmeshed and parallel to those addressed in the dissertation. The works have all been completed during the period of the candidature (from March 2000) They include six oil paintings, a set of Lightjet photographs (from the “Echohouse’ series) generated from 3d modelling programs and then face-mounted to Perspex. There is an additional three larger scale Lightjet photographs from another series. Finally there are projected works. One is a self contained DVD projection and the other is Mirror Land - a large scale 3d animation covering two wall and projected in a chiasmatic arrangement. Both works feature an endless looping repetition. / All the works play with metaphoric aspects of the mirror and examine the construction of space in contemporary Western culture. This space has become increasingly rationalized since the Renaissance and mirror a more general abstraction whereby the real is evermore preceded by simulations. The work looks at the mirror land and suggests a mode of realism capable of addressing the situation where the real has increasingly been reconfigured into representation.

The project of my diploma thesis Fragile Line is a continuation of my bachelor thesis Limits of Normality in which I compiled part of the drawn black and white imaginary world of a 10-year old boy Jára with Asperger syndrome and created its colourful 3D visualisation. Fragile Line is for me some imaginary border between the real world and Jára`s fictional world. In my diploma work I created three planets from Jára`s space system, intentionally I used different technology and range of colours for each of them because children like disparity and variety.

This practice-led research examines ideas surrounding the interpretation of place; the representation and experience of place are explored in my practice and throughout the thesis. The practice and thesis develop an interdependent relationship where one informs the other and each provides a critical platform whereby existing beliefs are brought into question and new ideas emerge. During the research period the practice is tested against different circumstances in a variety of situations and novel responses are generated. The thesis critically analyses approaches to interpreting place through a number of formats and a variety of sources. Both practice and theory are examined through peer-reviewed conference papers, artist-in-residence programmes and publications allowing new ideas to be explored and scrutinized by the academy. A working method that recognizes the importance and usefulness of serendipity and sagacity is established, bringing together my practice and the theoretical scope of the research. My primary focus is to understand and develop critical responses to the experience and representation of place within the realm of contemporary art practice. The work of W.G. Sebald and the secondary literature surrounding his work plays a significant role in providing ways of dealing with the entanglement of knowledge. Period Drama is both the name of an artwork and the name I have given to a conference paper. Both explore the convoluted and complex methods involved in realizing a site-specific work that challenges fiercely-held beliefs about place. My intention throughout the research has been to examine a variety of approaches that explore the representation and experience of place within contemporary art practice. Prominent within this examination has been the highlighting of the need to belong to a particular place and the sense of displacement generated when this need to belong is challenged or the nature of this connection is questioned.